Letter-box



(No Model.) J AW. LANGPORD.

LETTER B0X. No. 384,698. Patented June 19, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

JAMES W. LANGFORD, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

`"LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,698, dated June 19, 1888.

Application tiled March 7, 1898.

Serial No. 266,456. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMEs W. LANGEORD, of Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of/Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Letter-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention has for its object to provide a cheap and convenient letterbox, adapted particularly to be secured to the door-jambs of private houses to receive mail matter distributed by the postman; and the said invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts,to be hereinafter described, and pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a letter-box constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line n: w of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on the line y y, Fig. 2. 4

Similar letters of reference in the several Iigures indicate the same parts. i Y

The box proper, preferably formed of thin castdron, is mounted on awooden baseAboard, A, and is formed of the side pieces, 1B, which extend the entire length of the box and are cut away at the top in a curve to accommodate the top C. This top C has an opening,

D, therein, through which the mail is inserted,

hold the top part of the box rmly together' and in proper position. This front extension of the top, of course, is not absolutely'essential, as a separate piece may be used instead of the Iiange E, and the top secured in' posi tion in any of the well-known ways; butit will be found that the first-named construction has some advantages in that it holds the parts more firmly in position and reduces the initial cost.

At the bottom the front ofthe box is formed by a section, G, which is extended down some distance below the bottoni of the box in the form of an apron, G', preferably set a little back of the general plane of the front in order to form a step, I-I, on the inside, upon which the front edge of the bottom I rests. tion G is also provided with lugs similar to those on-the top sectiou,through which screwbolts Ez pass to secure the parts firmly in position at the bottom. I close the space between the section E of the top and the section G at the bottom by a door,K,having small lugs The seci 7c on its inner face near one edge,through which 4 pintles pass into lugs k on the sides or sections E and G to form hinges upon which the door swings.

In order to lock the door in closed position, a lug is formed on one of the sides, which passes through a slot in the forward edge of the door and has a padlock, 7L, passed through its end, as shown clearly in Fig. l.

Back of the apron G is a receptacle, L, for the reception of newspapers, packages, Src., too large to pass through the opening in the box-top, and which, for the sake of cheapness, is made in the form of a tube, secured to the base by screws Z. Back of and either above or below this receptacle I locate a bell, M, with a pull wire and ring, M,With which the postman can notify the occupants of the house that he has left mail matter in the box.

As an additional safeguard against the entrance of water and dirt into the box, I pr0- vide it with a cover, N, having flanges N', extending down over all the edges of the box at the top and made as ornamental as desired. The cover is hinged to the box at the back by a long bolt, O, passing through the anges of Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a letterAbox, the con1bination,with the base, sides, and front, of a sloping top having a flanged aperture therein, a sloping cover lying over said top with iianges extending down on the sides and front of the box, and a bolt on which said cover hinges passing through said flanges and the top of the box, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a letterbox, of a front section extending below the bottom of the box,and a receptacle fornewspapers, packages, Snc., located behind said extension, snb stantially as described.

JAMES W. LANGFORD.

Vitnesses:

EL B. DUVAL, JAs. S. PILCHER. 

